Calls for tech to enhance ticketing experience

Michael Waterson, an economics professor at Warwick University, has called on the ticketing industry to explore ways that technology can be used to enhance the online consumer experience.

Professor Waterson’s report, published this week, is a follow-up to his government-published independent report into the consumer protection measures for the online secondary ticketing facilities, which was published in May 2016.

The new report discusses ways to increase online security, make transactions more transparent and enable greater controls over the secondary market. The report has been funded by a grant to Professor Waterson by blockchain ticketing platform Aventus.

The new report focuses on protection using blockchain, which Professor Waterson feels “can easily incorporate several primary sellers for the same event through an open source protocol” and be designed to “incorporate the rule that if the owner cannot attend, they must transfer the ticket back to the original seller for redistribution or for on-sale at no more than a particular price”.

Another area the report explores is resale models exemplified by AXS Flashseats and Ticketmaster Presence, wherein Professor Waterson feels “any unwanted tickets go back to the original seller for recirculation to new buyers”.

The original report from 2016 assessed consumer protection measures around the online resale of tickets for events in the UK and made a number of recommendations, all of which were accepted by the government. Some of these have been enacted since then but several remain unaddressed.

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